Out of Darkness
by Autobot00001
Summary: Having finally put up with her mother's horrible behavior for the last time, Serenity moves back to Domino City to be with her brother. But will he and his friends be able to protect her from their mother when she comes looking for revenge? Warning: Contains violence, language, and lemon. Please R&R. (Remake)
1. Chapter 1

Serenity sat in the armchair by the lamp. She was reading William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for her Theatre History class. It wasn't a required class, it was a selective course for the Summer, but Serenity still enjoyed it, especially since she wanted to become an actress someday. Then all of a sudden, Serenity's mother, Lynn, walked in through the front door. She was followed a man in his late forties-early fifties. His very appearance disturbed and even frightened Serenity a little.

"Serenity, go to your room," Lynn said.

"Mom," Serenity said, "I'm just doing my homework. Besides I'm not a child anymore."

"No arguments, young lady!" Lynn barked, "Now go upstairs and get to bed! I have something to do and I don't want you interrupting me tonight!"

Serenity got out of the chair and walked towards the stairs. As she passed her mother and the man she brought home with her, the man gave her a sinister grin. Serenity trembled as she walked up the stairs. When Serenity got to her room, she closed the door behind her and sat on her bed. A few minutes later, she heard the door to her mother's bedroom close. This sound was followed a few minutes later by the sound of her mother moaning, yelling and wailing. Serenity knew what this meant. Her mother was getting intimate with the man and it was going to continue throughout the rest of the night. This wasn't a surprise to Serenity. Her mother had sex with many different men, it was this way almost every night for nine years since Serenity was separated from her older brother, Joey, when she was eight when her parents got a divorce. While Serenity was either at home or the hospital, her mother was either at work or with a gentleman friend.

That was when she found out that her parents divorce was not only from gambling, abuse and alcohol on her father, Jordan Wheeler, side, it was also from infidelity on Lynn's part too when she heard her father and mother fight the night before their divorce was finalized. Now she knew her father wasn't the only one to blame.

Knowing that she would most likely be unable to get more reading done that night, and seeing as how it was almost ten o'clock, Serenity decided to get ready for bed. She then changed into her pink flannel pajamas and slid under the covers of her bed. As Serenity laid in bed waiting to fall asleep, she drifted deep into her thoughts. She just couldn't understand why her mother suddenly changed. It had all started two years ago when Serenity returned home from the Battle City tournament after her eye operation. Ever since then, Lynn had become vicious, strict, and demanding, and had been sleeping with all these strange men more often like the one she was with now. Serenity didn't know why her mother changed, but before she could think about it any further, she fell into a deep sleep. And as she slept, she had one of the worst nightmares in her life.

_Serenity stood in a dark place. She didn't know where she was, but she didn't like it one bit. Suddenly she looked up and saw her brother Joey._

_"Joey!" Serenity shouted as she started running towards him. Suddenly, as she got closer to her brother, the darkness around Serenity started to engulf her brother, and within moments, Joey disappeared, "Joey! No! Come back!"_

Serenity shot up with a gasp and looked around. She was still in her bedroom. As she sat there on the bed, Serenity put her hands on her face and started crying. She couldn't take this life anymore. She wanted to be with her brother and his friends. After a few minutes, Serenity left her bedroom and went downstairs for a glass of water. As she drank her water, she decided that enough was enough. She had to get out of there. Spotting her mother's wallet, Serenity took it and took a fifty-dollar bill out of it for a train ticket to Domino City. She then slipped her shoes on and grabbed her cellphone. Suddenly, Serenity heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and jumped as she saw the man her mother came home with standing there in only his boxer shorts.

"Uh…can I help you?" Serenity asked, pretending to be polite.

"I certainly hope so," the man said, "I just got done fucking your mother, and she said that I can help myself to anything in the kitchen."

Serenity backed away from the man a bit as he slowly approached her.

The man then smirked evilly at her, "And I'm in the mood for a little dessert."

Serenity's eyes widened in terror as the horrible man leaned in and tried to kiss her. She tried pushing him away but he ended up pining her against the wall, then he slowly started unbuttoning her shirt, while his other hand tried to pull her pants down as he whispered in her ear, "You are way hotter than your mom..."

Serenity started to panic, "No! Stop it!" without any warning, she kicked the man in his private area and he slowly fell to the floor clutching it in pain, while Serenity was still terrified, "Don't touch me!" Not wanting the opportunity to go to waste, Serenity bolted out of the house and started running. Ten minutes later, after becoming annoyed by all the commotion, Lynn came downstairs to find her boyfriend on the floor in pain.

"What happened here?!" Lynn shouted.

"Your bitch daughter kicked me in the nuts is what the Hell happened!" her boyfriend exclaimed in rage and agony.

Lynn looked around, but there was no sign of Serenity anywhere. She then saw that her wallet had been moved onto the kitchen counter. Picking it up and looking in it, Lynn discovered that a fifty-dollar bill had been taken out of it. She also discovered that Serenity's cellphone was missing as well, needless to say Lynn was furious. As if by instinct, Lynn picked up the phone and dialed Serenity's cellphone.

* * *

Serenity ran as fast as she could down the sidewalk towards the nearby train station. As she ran, tears started streaming down from her eyes. How could her mother just willingly let some stranger into their house that was a total monster? Who almost raped her in her own house nonetheless? For two years since Serenity returned home Lynn had done a total one-sixty, she used to be concerned and caring, but now she has become more neglectful of her daughter, and she even spoke harshly about Joey even though he paid for the surgery that saved his sister in more ways than one.

In fact, if it wasn't for him their mother wouldn't have a daughter at all anymore.

Suddenly, Serenity's cellphone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was her mother before answering it.

"What do you want?!" Serenity shouted into her phone.

_"Serenity Elizabeth Wheeler! What is the meaning of this?!"_ Lynn yelled from the other end of the line.

"You want to know?! I'm leaving that's what I'm doing!" Serenity said in frustration, "I'm done with you, mom! I'm leaving Haiku and I never want to see or hear from you again! We are through!"

_"How dare you speak to me that way!"_ Lynn shouted angrily, _"Now you listen to me! I'm your mother and I demand that you come home this instance and apologize to Greg for assaulting him as well young lady! You are big trouble when you get home!"_

In that moment, Serenity's anger increased, "Are you kidding me?! First of all, I only assaulted your so-called boyfriend to defend myself because he tried to rape me in our house! And second, this place is not my home anymore! For the past two years you made it into a battlefield and a total nightmare ever since I came home from Battle City! You did nothing but ignore me, start fights with me and you did nothing but trash talk my brother when he paid for my operation and you were too stubborn and bitter to let me see him ever since the divorce years ago!"

Serenity didn't know since they were talking on the phone, but Lynn was baffled, _"Excuse me?!"_

Serenity started breathing heavily as she became even more emotional, "All my life you've kept me secluded and cut off from the rest of the world and my brother! How could you keep me in a hospital and not let me have any friends when I needed them the most?! Or try to come and see me more often when I needed support!? Especially when I was going blind!? You were never even there for me most of the time in the hospital when I lived in pure terror everyday that I might wake up seeing complete darkness for the rest of my life!"

_"I did it to protect you! And you managed to still have your sight, didn't you?!"_ Lynn exclaimed.

"If that's true, then how could you take me with you but leave Joey behind to fend for himself and be beaten and abused by a man who was unfit to raise a child?! And you never even answered your call when the doctor told you I was about to go blind or tell you they found out more about my disease!" Serenity cried.

_"Joseph would have eventually become like your father!"_ Lynn tried to explain, _"Everyday that boy was becoming more like him from his rude speech patterns to taking you to places and not even telling me! I knew if I had taken him with us he would have ruined us and would have made you lose your chances to get your operation because I had to raise two children on minimum wage! And I did find out about the disease and I was just as horrified!"_

"Stop! Just stop!" Serenity shouted into her phone, "I don't want to hear anymore of your lies! You obviously don't see that if it weren't for Joey, I never would've gotten my eye operation and I probably be blind and wouldn't be here right now! He's my real family, and as soon as I'm gone, he'll take care of me and I'll be living on my own! I'm going back to Domino city where I belong!"

_"That won't happen!"_ Lynn yelled, _"You forget, you are still under aged and I have custody of you! Your brother will never gain custody of you with his criminal record! And whether by me or by order of the courts, you will come home! I won custody of you before and I can do it again!"_

"Not this time! Because my eighteenth birthday is coming up and I'll be a legal adult! As far as I'm concern, you don't have a daughter, and you have no family!" Serenity said before throwing her cellphone on the ground and smashing it with her foot. It was settled. Serenity was going back to Domino.

* * *

A few minutes later, Serenity arrived at the train station and approached the ticket booth. The lady in the booth looked at her with a friendly smile, "Hi, can I help you with something, sweetie?"

"Yes," Serenity said, "I need a one-way ticket to Domino City."

"Alright, your train is at platform three and it leaves in ten minutes, that'll be thirty dollars," the ticket lady said. Serenity gave her the fifty-dollar bill and took off running as soon as she gave her the ticket, "Wait! You forgot your change!"

"Keep it!" Serenity shouted back.

Soon, Serenity got onto the train and took her seat. A few minutes later, the train started moving. Serenity couldn't believe her luck. She was finally leaving her mother and going to live with Joey. But as Serenity looked out the window, she knew in her heart that this was not over. Not by a long shot.

* * *

**Me: Hey guys! That's right, this is the remake. Sorry it took longer than I said it would, I had some things to do. Hope you like it. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of it's characters, only a few of the original characters. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Three-year-old Joey Wheeler sat up against the wall in the hospital hallway. He heard raised voices coming from his mother's hospital room as his parents, Lynn and Jordan Wheeler, argued with the doctor._

_"What the fuck do you mean my daughter's got bad eyesight?!" Joey heard his father yell in frustration. Joey had heard his father swear many times when they were at home, but it was still terrifying for him._

_Joey peered through the crack in the door and saw his father Jordan, a young man of twenty-one who bore a striking resemblance to his son with his dirty-blonde hair and dark brown eyes, his mother Lynn, who had short auburn hair that was curled and grey-green eyes and was wearing a hospital gown and laid in bed, and a man with grey hair wearing a white lab coat, who Joey assumed was the doctor._

_"Mister Wheeler, please calm down," the doctor said, "We got your daughter's test results back and she appears to have poor sight."_

_Jordan was wide-eyed in disbelief, "But how is it possible! How could my daughter have bad sight?!"_

_"We're not sure, mister Wheeler, but we will be doing more tests on her. We are debating she either has Congenital Glaucoma or Macular degeneration, all we know is that whatever she has it's causing her to have low vision."_

_"Are you saying that our daughter will need glasses when she's older, doctor?" Lynn asked as calm as she could, while her husband was still furious._

_The Doctor looks at them with a sad expression, "I'm afraid it won't be that simple, Mrs. Wheeler, is she has either of the diseases we suspect she has...then when she gets older she will most likely go blind."_

_Jordan went wide-eyed, "Blind?!"_

_The doctor looked at Jordan with a grim expression, "It's like I said Mr. Wheeler, she probably has glaucoma or degeneration. If that's the case If it's not treated by then, she will lose her sight permanently."_

_Joey still didn't know what was really going on, but seeing the expression on the doctor and his father's faces, he knew it wasn't good and his sister was in trouble if her condition was really that serious._

_Jordan was in pure horror and started panicking, "Blind...Permanently?!"Jordan demanded._

_"There is surgery that can correct her vision when the time comes. When we find the disease causing her bad eyesight we can perform an operation that fix the problem and save her sight, but it will have to be soon because if she loses her sight before we get the chance to do the operation...there will be no helping your daughter and she will be blind permanently as her eyes will be too damaged to repair."_

_Jordan clenched his fists to where his knuckles turned white. As the Doctor left the room, Joey jumped back against the wall. Since the door was still open, Joey peered back into the room to see that his father was still yelling, "This isn't right! She was supposed to be born healthy!" Jordan then turned to his wife._

_Lynn glared at him, "Stop it Jordan! You're acting ridiculous!"_

_"Did you not just hear what the doctor said, Lynn!" Jordan boomed, frightening Joey a little, "Serenity has an illness causing her to lose her eyesight and she'll probably go blind by the time she's in grade school, or possibly in her teens or is an adult! Do you know how serious this is, Lynn?!"_

_"Well it's not my fault, you drunk!" Lynn shouted, "We'll just have to pay for her surgery when the time comes, if we have enough money and if you haven't gambled it away by then."_

_Jordan growled, "Don't start with me! And if Serenity does go blind when she grows up, you will be the one to blame!" _

_Lynn looked appalled, "I beg your pardon!? How will I be the one to blame for Serenity's condition!?"_

_"Because you were fucking smoking Lynn! Throughout the passed nine months you had five cigarettes a day when you had Serenity inside of you, you probably caused her to be born with her eye problem! I told you to stop but did you listen No! You just did whatever you pleased while putting our daughter's health at risk!"_

_The arguing got louder and louder and things were being broken by Jordan's hands. Joey hide from the scene and was mortified by what he saw and what his parents said, his sister? Losing her sight?_

* * *

Joey shot up like a rocket and gasped. That was one of the worst dreams he'd ever had, only it wasn't just a dream.

It was a memory.

Joey took a few deep breaths as he remembered what happened on the day Serenity was born. Doctors have told his parents she had very bad eyesight but couldn't figure out what was causing it, they suspected Congenital Glaucoma or Macular Degeneration but did as much research on her as possible to figure out the problem. As Serenity got older, her eyesight got worse but never complained about it but the medical bills were increasing, causing Jordan to hate Serenity and soon he began to abuse her and Joey as they were increasingly going into poverty. When Serenity was eight and Joey was ten, their mother Lynn told Jordan she wanted a divorce, and took custody of Serenity.

As Joey sat there on his bed, he turned his head towards the door and heard loud snoring.

_'Okay, he's still asleep,'_ He thought to himself, _'Probably still knocked out from all that booze.'_

Joey narrowed his eyes as he listened to his father snoring from the living room recliner. He had every right to be angry with his father. Jordan was always drunk, getting into fights at the bar, and always talking trash about Joey and Serenity. He may have hated both of his children, but he hated Serenity the most as he blamed her for being the cause of their family becoming poor.

Joey, on the other hand, loved his little sister more than life itself. Ever since Serenity was a baby, Joey was always the one who took care of her, from feeding her and changing her diapers, to reading her bedtime stories and rocking her to sleep. Joey was also the one who took most of the beatings from their father so Serenity wouldn't have to. He was her brother, protector and also, her father figure. But after Lynn separated him and Serenity, life didn't get much better for Joey. He had to live with an alcoholic and abusive father and, because he had to steal in order to keep eating, got into fights on the streets and was in a gang, got a criminal record. But the worst part of it was that he had to live far apart from his sister and everyday he would worry if she was doing okay, and worried about her eyesight.

Then six years later, Joey's nightmare became reality when Serenity, who he saw for the first time as a young woman, sent him a video tape and told him the time had come and she was about to go blind and that she wanted to see him for the last time before that happened. Joey knew he had to do something before it was too late, and before her went to Duelist kingdom the doctor called him and told him they discovered Serenity's disease. To his horror, it was Retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that affected the eyes, needless to say Joey was furious and demanded the doctor why they never found out sooner when Serenity was born as the disease affects young children and newborns, surly with all the examinations they would have found a tumor would they? The doctor told him he recently found out and luckily for him and Serenity the tumor was still small and said they can perform a Photocoagulation, destroying the tumor while saving Serenity's eyes and her sight, but he had to get the money for surgery as soon as possible because the tumor was already growing and if the operation doesn't happen not only will Serenity go blind, the tumor will begin to spread and it will eventually kill her as Retinoblastoma is still cancer and, like all forms of cancer, it was deadly.

Not wanting his little sister to lose her eyesight or her life, Joey entered the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, hoping to win the three million dollar prize for the operation. He fought with all his might, and thanks to his improved skills and his determination to help Serenity, Joey made it all the way to the finals, but was unfortunately defeated by his best friend Yugi. However, Yugi wasn't interested in money and gave it to Joey, who used it to for Serenity's operation, and not only did he save his sister's sight, he ended up saving her life and future as well.

Joey was extremely happy that he had saved his sister. Now that she could see better for a long time, she would be able to stand on her own and take control of her life and no longer live in the hospital or have to fear of dying everyday. But Joey was still sad because, although he saved her life and future, he couldn't permanently save her freedom.

As Joey prepared to get out of bed, he felt something holding his arm. He looked over and saw his girlfriend Sarah sleeping next to him, clutching his arm. She was a beautiful girl about a year younger than him with long black hair and dark blue eyes. They had met a year ago when Joey was doing volunteer work with Tristan at the homeless shelter for school community service. Sarah was one of the volunteers and they hit it off pretty fast due to their common interests in video games, Duel Monsters, helping out the community and wanting to go to college to something in life. They also had the common background of having dysfunctional families. It wasn't long before they fell in love. Joey smiled at her, but then he realized that they were both naked, and that's when it came back to him. Last night Joey asked Sarah to marry him, to which she happily said yes, and then they came back to Joey's place and, since Jordan was in another drunken sleep, made love for the first time in Joey's bedroom.

"Hey. Sarah, wake up," Joey said as he gently nudged Sarah awake.

As Sarah woke up, she yawned and smiled at him, "Morning, Jo-man."

"Morning," Joey greeted her, "I think we'd better get out of here before my old man wakes up."

"Right," Sarah agreed, "And let's do this at my place next time, okay?"

"Agreed," Joey said. And with that, he and Sarah got out of bed and started getting dressed, "So how you feeling, babe?"

"A little sore, but not bad," Sarah commented.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Joey apologized.

"About what?" Sarah asked, "You were actually pretty awesome. Then again, that was my first time too, and they say that it only gets better."

"True," Joey said, sounding a little down and looked at the ground.

Sarah became worried, "You okay, Joey?" she asked.

"Not really," Joey said.

Sarah knew that look on Joey's face all too well, "Is this about your sister?"

Joey nodded, "Yeah, I know that Serenity's supposed to be free to live her own life now that she's had her operation, but she hasn't called me or written to me in two years. And every time I try calling her, ma says she's not available. I'm really worried about her, Sarah. The last time I saw her was when I came back from Egypt and was at the airport."

"I know," Sarah said as she and Joey finished getting dressed, "But don't worry, Joey. I'm sure she's fine, after all you did save her sight and her life."

Suddenly, Joey and Sarah heard a loud, fast knock on the front door.

"Who could that be?" Joey said in confusion. He and Sarah then went to the front door and opened it, and standing there was Serenity, still in her pink flannel pajamas, "Serenity?! What are you doing here?!" Joey closed the door behind him and Sarah, and Serenity immediately wrapped her arms around him tightly and started crying heavily.

"It was horrible, Joey! Mom was completely in denial of everything I told her! She won't listen to me about what happened or anything!" Serenity sobbed.

"Wait! Ma?!" Joey said as he broke the hug and looked at his little sister, "What happened, sis? What did ma do?"

Serenity wiped her tears away and looked at her brother, "Well…she brought a man home last night and when I went downstairs to get my stuff to come here, he…he…"

"What did he do, Serenity?" Joey asked.

"He tried to take my pajamas off...and..and!" Serenity cried.

Joey figured out what she was trying to say,"WHAT?! Why that son of a bitch! Ma let a bastard like that into her house!? If she was willing to let a pervert like that be in the same house as you, then how many guys like that was she with after she left pops?!" Joey shouted.

"Joey, calm down!" Sarah said, "Now's not the time to get angry. Right now, your sister needs you."

Joey took a deep breath to release his stress, "Right. But you really shouldn't have come here, Serenity. What if dad woke up and saw you?"

"I don't care, Joey! Any where's better than staying with mom! She won't do anything to help me anymore, she didn't even believe me when I told her that the man tried to rape me in our house!" Serenity sobbed.

Joey wrapped his arms back around Serenity and held her close as he rubbed his hand on her back, "It's okay, sis. I'm here now. But as much as I'd love for you to stay here, I don't think there's anything I can do. Ma still has custody of you and I still have a criminal record, not to mention dad is…well dad."

"Oh Joey! What am I going to do!" Serenity cried, "I can't go back to mom! Not after what I went through with her last night, and for the past two years! I want nothing to do with that woman anymore!"

"Hey, no worries sis, we'll think of something," Joey said, "But even if I do get custody, you still can't stay with me because I don't have my own place yet, and there is no way in hell that I'm letting you stay with our father either." Suddenly, Joey had an idea. "But I think I know some friends who might be able to take you in."

Serenity looked up at Joey with tears in her eyes, "Who?"

Joey smiled at her, "You'll see."

* * *

A few minutes later, Serenity found herself in the backseat of Sarah's car heading somewhere with Sarah and Joey. Joey didn't say where they were going, but frankly Serenity could care less, anywhere is better than being at home with her mother, and she was feeling a lot safer with them. Soon, Serenity looked up at Sarah, "So…your name is Sarah is it?"

Sarah looked at Serenity in her rear-view mirror with a smile, "Yep, that's the name, sweetheart."

"How do you know my big brother?" Serenity asked her.

"We're…kinda in a serious relationship," Sarah explained, "He's actually told me quite a lot about you."

"Really?" Serenity said before turning to brother, "Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend, Joey?"

"Well I tried calling you, but ma said you weren't home, and all the letters I've sent you came back to me with the words 'return to sender' stamped on them," Joey explained.

"Really?" Serenity said with a frown on her face, "…Of course, so that's why you haven't received my letters."

"And I'm not really Joey's girlfriend anymore," Sarah said.

Serenity was shocked, "Wait, you two are breaking up?" Serenity asked, "I thought you two were in a serious relationship?"

"She's not breaking up with me, Serenity," Joey said, "The reason she's not my girlfriend anymore is because…she's my fiancé."

Suddenly, Serenity's eyes widened, "Wait?! You're getting married?!"

Joey looked back at his sister with a big smile, "Yep. I proposed to her last night, and she said yes."

"Oh Joey, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! I can't believe my big brother is engaged." Serenity squealed in excitement.

"Yeah, now all we need to do is find someone to pay for the wedding," Sarah commented.

"Why? Can't your parents help plan the wedding, Sarah?" Serenity asked in confusion.

Sarah had a small frown on her face, "It's kinda complicated, Serenity," Sarah explained, "Let's just say my parents and I aren't very close...kinda like how you and Joey aren't close to yours."

"Really?" Serenity asked, "Oh, I'm sorry for bringing that up Sarah, I had no idea."

"That's alright Serenity, you didn't know. Besides I was better off without them anyways, and if I'm going to be part of the Wheeler clan you should get to know me." Sarah said before driving up to an apartment building, "This the place, Joey?"

Joey nodded, "Yep, this is it."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside one of the apartment complexes, Ryou Bakura walked into the kitchen to find his long time girlfriend, Daiana Whethers, cooking breakfast. He smiled then walked over to her and put his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek.

"Morning." Ryou said with a smile.

Daiana turned her head and smiled, "Morning Ryou," she sweetly greeted him, "how did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully, love," Ryou sat at the kitchen table, he sniffed the air and smiled, "my, that smells delicious."

"Chocolate chip pancakes, one of your favorites," Daiana smiled, suddenly the young couple heard a knock at the door, "Huh? Who could that be?"

"I didn't expect any visitors," Ryou said and got up from his chair, "You wait here, Daiana. I'll go see who it is."

Ryou then went over to the door, and when he opened it he was shocked to find Joey, Sarah, and Serenity standing there, "Joey? What are you doing here?"

"Hey Ryou," Joey started, "Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but I was wondering if you could help me out on something?"

Ryou blinked, "Uh, sure what is it?"

"I was wondering if you could let my sister Serenity stay with you and your girlfriend for a while, would that be okay with you?" Joey asked.

Ryou turned and saw Serenity, standing in her pink pajamas, "Serenity?" Ryou said in surprised, "How did you get here? Aren't you supposed to be back home in Haiku?"

Serenity looked at Ryou with a sad expression, "Well…things got a little complicated back where I lived. I had to get out as soon as possible."

Joey looks at Ryou, "My sister left home because of problems with our mother, and I was wondering if you could take her in until everything gets settled."

Ryou looked back and forth at the Wheeler siblings, he saw Joey's worry in his eyes while he tried to remain calm and then saw Serenity's sad face. Looking at them made Ryou realize that he needed to help them.

"Alright Joey," Ryou said, "We'll let Serenity stay with us, and she can stay for as long as she wants."

Joey smiled and was relieved, "Thanks man, I owe you one," Joey said before turning to his sister, "You'll be okay here, sis. We'll find a way to get through this, I promise."

Serenity smiled and hugged Joey, "I know you will Joey, you have done so much for me and came through on every promise you made. You truly are the best big brother a sister can have."

Joey hugged his sister back, "I'll do whatever I can, I promise you won't go back to ma, I'll fight her if it's the last thing I do."

They broke their hug and Joey started walking away with Sarah, but turned his head to see his sister with sadness in both their eyes as he walked away. This was a nightmare for Joey, his baby sister was forced to run away from home because of their mother's negligence and had to come back to their old dirty apartment where their drunken father was for safety. He never wanted to be permanently reunited with Serenity under these conditions, but it happened and things were about to get worse because when their mother found out where Serenity was, she would try to get her back and Joey would have to be prepared to fight her, even if she takes him to court.

His mother took his sister away before, but he'd be damned if he let her separate them again.

As Joey and Sarah left, Ryou showed Serenity into the apartment. It wasn't big but wasn't small either, everything was clean and Serenity felt more relaxed in the Bakura residence from its welcoming atmosphere.

"We don't have a guest room, but you're more than welcome to use the sofa bed," Ryou told her.

Serenity gave Ryou a warm smile, "Thanks Ryou. I appreciate it."

Moments later, Daiana came out from the kitchen as she was stirring pancake batter in a bowl, "Oh, hello," she said sweetly.

Serenity looked over and saw the ravened haired girl with a pink bow and warm honey brown eyes.

"Daiana, this is Serenity, Joey's little sister," Ryou introduced, "Serenity, this is my girlfriend, Daiana."

"It's nice to meet you, Daiana," Serenity said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, Serenity," Daiana responded, "Joey and Ryou have told me a lot about you."

"Like what?" Serenity asked.

"Well, you were diagnosed with a virus that affected your eyesight, but Joey saved your eyesight and your life by winning you three million dollars in Duelist Kingdom to pay for your operation," Daiana started, "And after the operation you went to Battle City to watch your brother duel in the Finals."

Serenity was extremely surprised about how much Daiana knew about her, "Wow, they really have told you a lot about me."

"Not only that, but Serenity also saved my life," Ryou said.

Daiana's eyes widened and looked over at Serenity, "What?! Really?!"

Serenity blushed in embarrassment, "Well, I wouldn't say that. All I did was convince Kaiba to get Ryou medical attention after he was injured in his duel with Yugi."

Suddenly, much to her surprise, Daiana took Serenity's hand and gave her an accepting and grateful smile, "Thank you so much, Serenity."

Serenity smiled back at her, "You're welcome, Daiana. You and Ryou must be pretty close."

"We are," Daiana commented, "I don't know what I'd do without him." She then let go of Serenity's hand, "So what brings you here, Serenity? And what's with the pajamas?"

"She's going to be staying with us for as long as she needs to, Daiana," Ryou explained.

"Really?" Daiana asked, "Why's that?"

"Well, there were problems back where I lived and I needed to get away from them, it's only temporary though." Serenity said.

Daiana looked at Serenity in confusion and sympathy, "Really? I'm sorry to hear that, but won't your mom be worried about you being here in Domino by yourself?"

Serenity froze and looked a bit sad, she started to get an image of her mother and remembering the woman made her angry and sad inside, Ryou stepped into the conversation.

"Daiana, I don't think Serenity wants to talk about that right now."

"It's alright, Ryou," Serenity said, "She didn't know, besides I think I owe her an explanation as to why I'm here since I'll be staying with you two."

While Serenity didn't want to talk about her mom, she didn't want to keep Ryou or Daiana in the dark about her situation since they are keeping her in their home. It wouldn't be fair to not at least tell them what was going on right now.

Ryou nodded, "Alright."

Daiana had a sad look on her face, "I'm so sorry, that was completely rude of me, I didn't mean to ask such a personal question."

"It's alright Daiana," Serenity says, "You didn't know."

"Why don't we talk about it over breakfast," Daiana suggested, "Do you like chocolate chip pancakes, Serenity?"

Serenity smiled, "That sound delicious."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Serenity was finishing her breakfast and telling her story to Ryou and Daiana. She told them about how her mother had become neglectful and bitter towards her over the past two years since she came home from Battle city and eye operation. She also told the couple how her mother's boyfriend almost violated her in her own kitchen the night before and how she ran away after getting in a fight with her mom, confronting her on all the things she's done from when Serenity was little to the night before. Ryou was furious since he knew what it was like to grow up with a neglectful parent since his father almost never came home from his Archeology expeditions after his mother and sister died in the car accident years before as a child. He hadn't spoken to him in almost two years and he doesn't even know Ryou has a girlfriend.

It seemed as though Daiana was the one most upset by Serenity's story, as her expression was a mixture of horror and sadness given her childhood memories of her father. She held her hands together in concern.

"We're very sorry that happened to you, Serenity," Daiana finally said, "you shouldn't have had to deal with that."

"Thank you, Daiana," Serenity thanked, "And you guys don't know how much it means to me that you're willing to help me."

"We'd do anything for a friend, Serenity," Ryou said, "So this can be an I.O.U. from when you saved my life."

Serenity smiled, but then she yawned.

"You look tired, Serenity," Daiana commented, "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"Not much, I was on the train most of the night before I got to Domino at four in the morning, so I didn't have time for sleep since I wanted to be awake to go find Joey," Serenity explained.

"Why don't you go take a nap now and when you wake up, we'll go get you some new clothes?" Daiana suggested, "I mean you can't stay in your pajamas the whole time you're here."

Serenity smiled, "Sure. It would be nice to get some new clothes, and it's been a while since I went shopping."

Ryou got up and went to the living room to set up the mattress bed, after he got some sheets and blankets, Serenity got into the bed and fell fast asleep.

Daiana was doing the dishes while Ryou came over to help.

"I hope she'll be alright. The poor looked like she went through so much already" Daiana said as she washed a dish.

Ryou gave her a smile, "Don't worry, love, she will be."

Daiana put the dish in the sink and held her face as she blushed a bit, "I can't believe I asked her such a question, I feel so embarrassed, I probably opened to some old wounds."

"Don't feel ashamed, we didn't know," Ryou said as he placed his hands on Daiana's shoulders, "but now that we do, we must do our best to make Serenity feel welcome and safe."

Daiana turned her head towards him and smiled, "Right, I'll do my best."

Ryou smiled at his girlfriend, "I know you will." He and Daiana then shared a passionate kiss.

* * *

Well, here you guys go! Sorry it took so long, I had other things to do. I'd like to once again thank white pedal for helping me with this and for letting me use her OC Daiana. Please review!


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